jawbones

Noun

jawbone (countable and uncountable, plural jawbones)

1. (countable) The bone of the lower jaw; the mandible.
   • 14 ¶ And when he came vnto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily vpon him, and the cordes that were vpon his armes became as flaxe that was burnt with fire, & his bands loosed from off his hands.
     15 And he found a new iawbone of an asse, and put foorth...1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Judges 15:14–17

   Synonyms:

   inferior maxillary bone, lower jaw, mandible, submaxilla

2. (countable) Any of the bones in the lower or upper jaw.

   Synonyms:

   dentary, dentary bone, maxilla

3. (countable, plural, singular) A shaken musical instrument (an idiophone) made from the jawbone of an animal and shaken such that the teeth vibrate in their sockets to produce sound.
4. (archaic, slang, uncountable) Credit.
   • We have a few persons whose pockets are to let—men who have more complaints than dollars—individuals who, in digger's parlance, live on jawbone (credit), and are always to be found at saloons; a class of men who, when they are here, wish themselves yonder, and when yonder, wish themselves back.1862 October 21, Times Correspondent

See all 6 meanings of jawbone